Baseline characteristics of the sample* (efficacy of the randomisation process)
| Variable | Clinical pathway (n = 214) (%) | Usual care (n = 215) (%) | p Value† |
| Male gender | 47.7 | 51.2 | 0.5 |
| Mean age (SD) (years) | 81.7 (8.5) | 79.7 (8.5) | 0.011 |
| Admitted from | |||
| General practitioner | 49.5 | 50.7 | 0.8 |
| Home | 50.5 | 49.3 | |
| Severity at admission | |||
| NYHA II | 7.5 | 7.0 | |
| NYHA III | 54.7 | 53.0 | 0.9 |
| NYHA IV | 37.9 | 40.0 | |
| Co-morbidities | |||
| Hypertension | 72.0 | 74.9 | 0.6 |
| COPD | 24.3 | 27.0 | 0.6 |
| Diabetes | 19.2 | 17.7 | 0.7 |
| Smoking | 15.9 | 14.4 | 0.7 |
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; NYHA, New York Heart Association.
*An average of 407 (min 194, max 633) HF patients were treated annually in each hospital of the CP group; 396 in control group hospitals (min 147, max 640).
†χ2 and t tests for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.